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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. land — a country
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — a match
  6. wake — a trail
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. land — ground
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — from crying
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tear — from crying
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — a safe
  18. spring — the season
  19. land — to come down
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com